Calibrate your screen
Stretch the bar to match a 2-inch reference (credit card width works in a pinch). This sets the px/in value used for conversions.
Settings
Optional audio feedback
Interactive track
Press the green start marker, drag in a straight line toward the red target (378 px away), and release to log your movement.
Press the green marker, drag toward the red target, then release to log a run.
Current result
Complete a run to see live results.
Calibrated pixels
--
Raw pixels moved
--
Target distance
378 px
Physical path
--
Latest DPI
--
Computed per run from pixels ÷ inches.
Average
--
Mean of no runs saved below.
Spread
--
Range across your recorded attempts.
Average across runs
Smooths out noise from hand wobble and tracking variance.
--
Based on 0 saved runs.
Run history
Most recent results first
No runs yet. Track a movement and record it to populate this list.
Mouse DPI Test
Drag your cursor across a known on-screen distance, enter how many centimeters your mouse traveled on your pad, and we'll convert the measured pixels into DPI. Repeat a few runs to average out hand wobble and hardware variance.
Follow this quick calibration flow before you log a run:
- Calibrate first. Stretch the on-screen bar to match a 2-inch (about 5 cm) reference so pixels map accurately to real-world inches.
- Use a longer swipe. Measure at least 5" / 12 cm of travel so small hand wobbles don't dominate the math; longer distances improve accuracy.
- Disable pointer acceleration. Turn off OS/device acceleration so distance maps linearly; Windows “Enhance pointer precision” and similar toggles can skew results.
- Draw a straight line. Pick two landmarks on the track (left to right edges work well), start on the green marker, and stop on the red target.
- Compare to your hardware DPI. If the calculated DPI is far off, re-check calibration, confirm your device DPI stage, and ensure in-game/OS sensitivities haven't changed your effective DPI.
If numbers still look wrong, try another surface, swap USB ports, or repeat a few runs—consistency matters more than a single result.
Effective DPI vs. hardware DPI
Your hardware DPI is what the mouse sensor reports. Effective DPI multiplies that by OS or in-app sensitivity (often called eDPI in games). If your test result doesn't match your hardware DPI, check for scaling factors, updated firmware, or layered sensitivities in drivers and games. Resetting to a single multiplier (hardware DPI only) for a run helps isolate issues.
Recommended Gear
Handpicked favorites—each highly reviewed and personally recommended.
Lightspeed wireless mouse with up to 70h battery life. A personal favorite with rave reviews.
High performance mouse with 11 programmable buttons. Widely praised and personally recommended.
Durable mouse pad with anti-slip rubber base. Well-reviewed and handpicked for quality.
DPI basics (why calibration matters)
What is DPI?
Dots per inch measures how many screen pixels the pointer travels for every inch the mouse moves. Higher DPI moves the cursor further with the same motion, while lower DPI trades distance for fine control.
Why calibrate?
Displays rarely render at exactly 96 px/in, so calibrating the on-screen ruler keeps your physical measurement in sync with the pixel math. Even a small mismatch can shift your reported DPI by hundreds of points.
Effective vs. hardware DPI
Hardware DPI is set on the mouse. Effective DPI includes any multipliers from OS pointer speed, driver tweaks, or in-game sensitivity. Keeping those multipliers consistent—or zeroed out—makes repeat testing reliable.
Typical ranges
- Precision FPS aim: 400–800 DPI (paired with in-game sensitivity)
- General productivity and browsing: 800–1600 DPI
- High-resolution or multi-monitor work: 1600–3200+ DPI